Family Love: What It Is, What It Looks Like, And How To Make It Happen
It’s easy to say, “I love my family,” but family love is about more than these simple words. Family love is a special type of love that comes with its unique feelings, behaviors, challenges, and rewards. Once you understand what it truly is, you can learn how to build family relationships by genuine love and care.
What Is Family?
A family isn’t necessarily about blood relations-it’s a group of people that function as a unit. Often, but not always, this includes parents and children.
Family can also mean all the descendants of a common ancestor. Some people consider their friends like family. However, when we speak of family love, the love you have with your friends might or might not fit, depending on what type of relationship you have.
What Is Love?
Love is a word that’s been used in so many ways, it’s nearly lost its meaning. We may say we love ice cream or skiing when what we mean is that we enjoy it. Love is of course commonly used to describe romantic behaviors.
In the context of family love, the term refers to bonds characterized by deep affection, respect, loyalty, and healthy attachment. Family relationships are different from other types of bonds. The following characteristics of family love set it apart from other types of love relationships.
You Can’t Always Choose Your Family.
You typically choose the person you want to start a family with when you’re an adult. You might choose children to adopt or bring into your family.
But children have no choice about who is in the family group. You don’t get to choose your siblings, and you certainly don’t get to choose your parents. Despite these limitations, family love still flourishes. It isn’t always healthy love, but it is a deep connection, nonetheless.
You Face the Challenges of Living Together
Living in a family unit usually means sharing a living space. Privacy is limited because of your proximity. You must share certain belongings, such as dishes, appliances, and furniture. You compete for the other family members’ attention. What’s more, to keep that space peaceful, each family member needs to respect the rights of the others to whatever degree is possible.
For example, an infant is a member of the family, but they aren’t capable of understanding how to respect other family members. The more mature that person gets, though, the more they need to be mindful of how their behavior affects others.
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